employment

" BEIJING Justin Reid Color Rush Jersey , Aug. 21 (Xinhua) -- The future is not so bright. Almost eight million fresh college graduates are looking for jobs in China this year, a new high in recent years. But many do not seem to care much whether they find one or not.

They are devotees of ""slow employment"", sort of a trendy lifestyle that advocates a not-so-fast attitude in finding a job after graduation.

Some, like Xia Chuanqi, 24, planned for it. After bidding farewell to campus life in Sichuan College of Culture and Arts in July, Xia went to Bazhou in northeast Sichuan Province and became a volunteer. He had no idea how long he would stay, but only knew he wanted to be there.

""I interned at a local TV station in college and had been to several impoverished places in remote Sichuan. There, I saw people in need of help and that image stayed in my head. I come from the countryside, and I want to give them a hand and pull them up,"" he said.

Majoring in performing arts, many of Xia's classmates went off to seek fame and fortune in the megacities, dreaming of overnight success. Xia is quite clear about how unlikely that would be.

""Many actors lack real life experiences, so I want to do something down to earth and become a better person. Even if I decide not to become an actor, these experiences will stand me in good stead and will do me good,"" he said.

Xia speaks with a certain amount of authority. He seems like a person who already knows himself quite well.

""I have no idea of what my future holds, but first and foremost, I want to be a man with a sense of social responsibility,"" he said.

THE JOYS OF PRIVILEGE

While Xia is assertive and determined, a young lady, only willing to be identified as Xu, from the Communications University of China, has also taken her time to find a job, but for a different reason entirely : she is picky.

The 25 year-old took several job interviews, but none of the opportunities met her exacting standards. She insists on a job she will enjoy, and she wants to be well paid for her efforts.

Regardless of her opinion about the jobs in question she failed several interviews, and returned home to Shandong Province with her tail between her legs, idling away half a year before she was eventually hired by a training agency in Beijing.

""It is easy to find a job, but hard to get a good one,"" said fresh graduate Huang Xiaoqian. Huang spent three months looking for a job in Chengdu, Sichuan's capital, after months of searching in Beijing, where she graduated.

""Slow employment"" is the outcome of social progress and better-off families. In the old days, fresh graduates would kill or die for a job simply because, if not, they would have no money to survive. Now, many mollycoddled young people no longer carry such economic burdens. Parents are ready and willing to finance their kids as long as they need money.

At the same time, society is no longer judging success only through one's occupation and income, and technology has reshuffled the employment structure in China.